Based on what the car makers are planning, we can bring you pictures of the exciting new motors that you won’t have seen before.

With a little detective work, lateral thinking and the aid of some slick looking artists’ impressions we can let you in on the fantastic new cars heading our way in the next few years.

Ford GT

Price for the GT should be similar to the current model: a bargain $150,000.

Ford is readying up a successor for the GT, its modern reinterpretation of the GT40. While the current car is a slightly scaled up version of the ’60s original with only minor aesthetic changes, Ford understand that the retro approach is not going to work a second time.

Therefore the new car aimed against the Ferrari 458 Italia and McLaren MP4-12C will show only pedigree traits resembling the GT40, otherwise being a completely original car.

The bigger news comes from under the bodywork, as the powertrain will be a hybrid setup, mating a supercharged V8 with an electric motor powering the front wheels. This and the reduced body weight resemble the Porsche 918 Spyder, first revealed at 2010’s Geneva Motor Show. And while the performance is likely to be similar to the European competition.

Honda NSX

Honda president, Takashi Ito, has recently announced that the company is renewing the development of the NSX. The next generation of this Japanese concept car was put on hold after the global financial crisis in 2008. Following the Nissan GT-R and Lexus LFA, the NSX will be the third modern Japanese supercar and the only one daring to use a mid-engine.

The starting point will be the 2004 HSC concept, with minor changes in detail. Some interesting design features were also shown by Honda on the 2008 FC Sport Concept. We would like to see some of those very-Japanese styling features on a production car.

Maserati Quattroporte

Over the course of 40 years the renowned designers Giorgetto Giugiaro, Alejandro de Tomaso and Marcello Gandini have shaped up what we recognise today as the Quattroporte.

But in 2003, Pininfarina delivered the best Quattroporte ever. The sixth instalment of Maserati’s largest model will be penned by the same Italian studio.

This generation will be influenced by the styling of the GranTurismo, and will be an all-modern take on the subject, an attitude similar to the recent Jaguar XJ. It should be available in showrooms in 2013.

Maserati SUV

Price around £65,000

Fiat and Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne has confirmed that the improving monetary situation will allow the development of an all new Maserati SUV that could hit the road by 2014.

The engine is going to be the same 4.7 litre V8 used for the GranTurismo and production is likely to be placed at Chrysler’s Detroit plant as sales are expected to go mostly to the US and Chinese markets.

The base price will be around £65,000, a third more than another 4×4 Marchionne has in his plans, an Alfa Romeo.

Mazda RX-9

Mazda is sticking to the rotary engine for their top sports cars and has a new generation of this exotic power plant in the works. Currently used in the 2+2 doors RX-8, the rotary will next be featured on the spiritual successor of the RX-7, a brand new, classic two-door GT.

Apparently called the RX-9, this new car will share the chassis components with the next generation MX-5, and because of that will be extremely light: a weight of around 1,250kg should result, excellent for a 300hp GT.

Mercedes BIOME production car

In a recent report, Hubert Lee, head of the California Mercedes-Benz design studio stated that there are elements within the design of the BIOME concept car that could easily be progressed and developed for production. The designer is confident that the car is doable without any significant changes.

The decision to transform this exciting concept into a production sports car makes sense if we consider that BMW is well advanced in developing the i8, the production version of the Vision EfficientDynamics concept.

Bentley Cross Continental

Prices are expected to start at £120,000

The new CEO of Bentley, Wolfgang Dürheimer, has announced that the company will expand its model line-up with three new cars. Presented here is the new crossover/SUV, which is rumoured to be called the Cross Continental.

The future Bentley range will be sharing platforms with the Porsche brand (now a full part of the VW family rather than a distant cousin), and in this particular case, under the surface the goodies will be the same as in the Porsche Cayenne. Obviously the trim will be a lot more luxurious, and the engine, a Bentley exclusive, is the reworked W12 unit with more than 600bhp.

BMW 3 Series saloon

Under the supervision of Adrian van Hoydoonk, BMW has toned down its styling, selling today something a lot less controversial than what Chris Bangle was offering a decade ago. Judging the new styling is strictly subjective, but whether you like or not, it is soon going to affect the 3 Series.

As BMW makes the design changes starting from the top of the range, the new 3 Series will step into the aesthetic line visible on the new 5 Series and 7 Series. However, this smaller saloon will as usual be the athlete of the range with sleek lines and visible muscles.

BMW X4

After a few years of hesitation, BMW has decided to greenlight the X4. This is a smaller X6, sharing a platform with the X3. While initially afraid of cannibalising the X3, BMW was convinced by the success of the X6 that there is definitive room for a sporty compact crossover. Strong indicated sales of the sharp-looking Range Rover Evoque may also have encouraged them.

Citroën C4 Picasso

Citroën is really riding the style wave, and many of their new cars are real lookers. The addition of the DS line was also a brilliant marketing move, adding customisation options that can rival any tuning company.

Up next for this styling change is the C4 Picasso, which is about to be changed from a rather mundane practical car into a modern and eye-catching crossover. Hardware will be shared with the rest of the C4s, but the styling will be clearly distinctive, biased towards aggressiveness if compared to the current model.

Rumours are that it will hit the showrooms in early 2012.

Ferrari F60

Price around £900,000

Ferrari has in development a new flagship successor for the amazing Enzo of 2003. Based on 2007’s Millechili concept, the new car is expected to place an emphasis on lightness and be, from a performance point-of-view, on a par with the FXX.

Why bother to make a new car as good as an old one? Well, the point is that the FXX was not road legal while the new F60 will be. Power is anticipated to come from a V8 (rather than the V12, thus saving weight), but with twin turbochargers and exceeding 700bhp.

Production will probably be as limited as the Enzo with not more than 400 units, and the price somewhere in the region of £900,000.